The case had generated "emotions and energies" among young Indians seeking changes in society, he said in a statement.

"It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action."

T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, said after her death: "In the end, she succumbed to her injuries because the scale of those injuries was very great.

"The family of course is shattered by this development. At the same time, they realise that the best possible medical attention was provided to her. At the end, it was the scale of her injuries which proved too much for the medical treatment that was provided to her."

Raghavan said the family had expressed a desire for her body to be flown back to India.

"The deceased and her family members will be flown back to India in a chartered aircraft later this afternoon," he said on Saturday.

'Very serious condition'

Al Jazeera's Divya Gopalan, reporting from New Delhi early on Saturday, said: "She has been in hospital since the attack happened on December 16, she has been in hospital in very serious condition... Just a few days ago they said her condition had worsened so they sent her to Singapore for treatment at a hospital that specialises in organ transplants."

The horrific ordeal of the woman galvanised Indians, who have held almost daily demonstrations to demand greater protection from sexual violence, from groping to rape, that impacts thousands of women every day, but which often goes unreported.

The victim and a male friend were traveling in a public bus on December 16 night when they were attacked by six men who raped her and beat them both.

They also inserted the rod in her body, stripped both naked and threw them off the bus on a road. Police have arrested the six attackers.

The attack two weeks ago brought new focus on police and community attitudes toward woman in India. Demonstrators in New Delhi have demanded stronger protections for women and stronger punishment for rapists.

It also announced plans to post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to publicly shame them. The campaign is scheduled to begin in Delhi, which has been dubbed India's "rape capital".